For
Bev Swecker, there's simply no
other word to describe the past
eight years. There's no other
way to sum up nearly a decade
of legal battles that have turned
a Dana farmer into a rural crusader
for renewable energy >>
more

Jon Gaskell:
Now we're getting somewhere

Putting away 'real' predators
for 25 years makes perfect sense

Sen. Larry McKibbon, a blowhard Steve
King wannabe who often finds his way
into this publication's "Winners
& Losers" column - as a loser
- is among a group of Republican senators
that is going to push hard this session
for a law that would require a mandatory
25-year prison sentence >>
more

Civic
Skinny: Culver: 'I haven't peaked'

Insiders say Blouin source
is full of hot air

Gubernatorial candidate Chet
Culver dismissed a comment in
last week's "Civic Skinny"
from a top Mike Blouin supporter
that his campaign has "peaked,"
we were told. "Mike is trying
to take a dire situation and create
some buzz," a top party official
told us. "But it is going
to take a miracle for him to make
a race of it. >>
more

Rob
Beasley's reputation as Des Moines'
boldest, edgiest chef is longstanding.
At Adam and Abby's, the Varsity and
the Gilded Emporium, the Louisianan
developed a loyal following by giving
locals an every-day-is-Mardi Gras experience,
and by playing with more decadent flavors
than are generally permitted to walk
the streets of Iowa >>
more

Prairie
City singer-songwriter-guitarist Steve
Beyerink says writing songs is therapeutic,
but one has to wonder whether there
are enough songs in his dark soul to
cure his tombstone blues after listening
to his one-man band Miss Autopsy's sophomore
album, "Sweet Killers." >>more

Mississippi's greatest export
is its music. The birthplace of
the blues and . . . >>more

City
Sounds2 : Bending strings, stereotypes

Ask most anyone who they think
are the greatest guitarists of
all time and chances are they'll
rattle off a list of men faster
than you can say "Johnny
B. Goode . . . >>more

Rant
& Rave:

You
think you know something we don't
know? Think we suck? Think other
people suck? Think you can lead
us to the promise land, or do
you just want to spout off some
serious lip? Then grab that thing
in your hand (No, the thing in
your other hand) and double-click
right here. After we check to
make sure you aren't wanted by
the authorities and that you have
your facts as close to straight
as possible, we'll post it right
here. Then other people sitting
in their cubicles -- just like
you -- can bask in your wisdom.

Oh, and if you're really funny,
or enlightened or wonderfully
horrible, we'll print what you've
laid down in next week's issue
of Cityview. So go ahead, what
are you waiting for? >>more